Former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa has denied ever interfering in the management of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) during his time in the Cabinet.
The Amanah deputy president said he had instead left operational matters to professionals, including the establishment of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) as part of TH’s recovery and restructuring plan.
“I only led the policy and acted as an intermediary between TH and the Cabinet.
“I presented the proposal and, Alhamdulillah, it was approved. The SPV was part of a bigger idea, namely the recovery and restructuring plan.
“Coincidentally, the Finance Minister at the time was Lim Guan Eng. That was when the issue arose, with claims that the assets were being sold to the Chinese,” he said during the Dialog Ummah: Realiti Masa Depan TH session at a hotel here on Thursday.
Mujahid’s remarks came after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Hasan recently stressed that no TH assets had been sold to non-Muslims or Chinese individuals, as previously alleged by certain parties.
Zulkifli said assets transferred under TH’s recovery and restructuring plan were moved to Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB), a government-owned special purpose vehicle.
Mujahid said that while leading TH at the time, he personally urged its top management to focus on doing their best for the institution.
He added that he was prepared to face criticism from his political opponents, including attacks directed at him over the controversial decisions.
“One of the difficulties in making decisions at the time, when I was the Religious Affairs Minister, was that I was prepared to become unpopular.
“I told TH’s top management at the time that if people wanted to attack TH, they should leave it to me. That was the price I was prepared to pay,” he said.
Mujahid also said the findings in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on TH had clearly shown that allegations levelled against him for eight years that TH assets had been sold to the Chinese were completely untrue.
